A craving for a Chinese takeaway led to a farmer jumping from his tractor and hurting himself in a rather delicate area.

And James Armstrong is now urging others in the farming community to take more care when getting on and off tractors.

The 27-year-old said: “As a young lad I wanted to show off that I had my tractor licence.

“If I’d just climbed down it would have been likely that I would have avoided injury.”

James, from Barharrow near Gatehouse of Fleet, told his story as part of the NFU’s fourth annual Farm Safety Week UK and Ireland.

When he was 16, James thought he’d make use of his new tractor licence to head off for a takeaway.

He hitched a tanker to the tractor but when he jumped off he fell onto one of the link arms – landing in a compromising position.

With no one around and no phone, James, who was in a significant amount of pain, managed to free himself and drive to a nearby house where he called for someone to take him to hospital.

The way James Armstrong was standing was when he slipped, causing the injury (Image: Bobby Geddes)

James, who farms in partnership with his father, said: “On inspection with a mirror I thought I’d just need a couple of stitches.

“We’d been at slurry during the day, so I went for a bath knowing that I was having to go to the hospital.

“When at Kirkcudbright Hospital I then realised how severe my accident was. My sister Judith, who was working in a local hotel a half-hour drive away, was called to take me to Dumfries as my parents were at a wedding reception outwith the area.

“The doctors described my injuries as like a stab wound.

“I had a four-inch tear up the back of my left leg.

“I spent five days in hospital and it took me a few weeks to be able to sit down.

“For the next few months I had to find work off-farm as I was unable to drive tractors or perform most day to day basic tasks.”

Since the accident in 2006, James has undergone two operations, one of which was last year.

It was a piece similar to this that caused the injury when James slipped. (Image: Bobby Geddes)

NFU Mutual’s regional manager, Martin Malone, said: “James’ advice to climb down rather than jump down from machinery and use your common sense is something that we should all take away from this story.

“Unfortunately most farm safety issues are commonplace but they aren’t common practice and this is why initiatives like Farm Safety Week are so important. Bringing the whole industry together to share a common message means that we are doing something to address this poor safety record.”